DETROIT (AP) — In the past two seasons, the Detroit Lions won 27 games, clinched two NFC North titles and made a trip to the NFC championship game.
That's a level of success the franchise hasn't reached since the 1950s, but there's one game they haven't been able to forget.
On Monday night, the Lions play the Baltimore Ravens for the first time since they were embarrassed 38-6 on Oct. 22, 2023. The Lions were down 28-0 before they got a first down and 35-0 before they scored.
“We still have a lot of
guys that went out there for that game, and that's one you don't forget,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “We didn't give ourselves a chance — by the end of the first quarter, we were already in a bad way.”
Baltimore took the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards for a 7-yard touchdown run by Lamar Jackson. Detroit's first three possessions went three-and-out, and the Ravens followed all three punts with another touchdown drive.
“We went in there and they really took it to us,” quarterback Jared Goff said.
On those three drives, the Lions ran the ball three times for 11 yards, while Goff was 2 for 4 for 15 yards and was sacked twice for 13 yards.
“We have to start faster,” said Lions tight end Sam LaPorta, who caught six passes for 52 yards. “I don't think we hit the panic button, but we were definitely frantic. We need to remember that we're a great team now, but we were a pretty good team back then as well.
“A 21-point deficit isn't the end of the world.”
One of Detroit's few weaknesses in the Campbell era has been stopping mobile quarterbacks, and Jackson is as good as anyone. He went 21 for 27 for 357 yards and three touchdowns without taking a sack while running for another 36 yards and one score.
In 2023, Baltimore's running game consisted of Jackson, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill. On Monday night, the Lions will have to deal with Derrick Henry.
“We're going to have to be on point and we're going to have to be disciplined,” Campbell said. “You have to stay on your feet — that's always huge. Keep moving until you get reinforcements.”
The Lions don't have a quarterback like Jackson for the defense to practice against, but they added wide receiver Malik Cunningham to the practice squad this week. He was Louisville's starting quarterback from 2018-22, leading the Cardinals to three bowl games. In 2021, he passed for 2,941 yards and 19 touchdowns while running for 1,034 yards and 20 touchdowns.
“Obviously, he was a college quarterback, so we think he can give the defense some useful looks out there,” Campbell said. “But we're also going to use him as a receiver.”
The Lions know, though, that all the practice in the world can only do so much to duplicate the feeling of playing one of the league's best teams.
“They physically beat us up two years ago, and that's tough to accept,” assistant head coach Scottie Montgomery said. "We work the way we work, and we put so much detail into our scheme, and they just outperformed us physically. That's what we took from it. You know what the Ravens are like, so we know the physicality of this game is going to be high.
“We have to do a lot better than we did last time.”
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